Collection Development Policy

The Folger’s collection focuses on 16th- and 17th-century material from the British Isles and Europe, and on Shakespeare from all time periods and around the world. The library acquires books, manuscripts, and prints from ca. 1500 to ca. 1700, with particular emphasis on the late Tudor and early Stuart periods. The scope of the Shakespeare collection is much wider: not only books, manuscripts, and prints, but also paintings, photographs, film, sound recordings, ephemera, and objects relating to the cult of Shakespeare and Shakespearean performance. Below are some examples of items acquired in recent years.